Abstract

We report the strong size-dependent carrier injection process in quantum-confined siliconnanocrystals embedded in silicon nitride films. As the diameter of siliconnanocrystals increases, the threshold voltage for carrier injection decreases whereas the number of injected carriers increases due to the quantum size effect. The tunneling time for the carrier injection is decreased by two orders of magnitude when the diameter of siliconnanocrystals is increased from 3.4 to 5.0 nm, and this is attributed to the enhanced nonresonant tunneling in the larger siliconnanocrystals.

Received 22 August 2009Accepted 13 November 2009Published online 15 December 2009

Acknowledgments:

This work was partially supported by the World Class University program at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology through a grant provided by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology of Korea (Grant No. R31-2008-000-10026-0) and the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation NCRC grant funded by the Korea government (Grant No. R15-2008-006-02001-0).